Pakistan's Ahmadi Muslims Under Attack - Nobel laureate Abdul Salam's cousin killed in Nankana Sahib

An advocate and local leader of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiya was gunned down as unidentified armed men opened fire at him in Nankana Sahib on Thursday morning.

Advocate Malik Saleem Latif and his son Advocate Farhan were on their way to court when unidentified men fired at them, killing Latif on the spot.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, a duty officer at Nankana city police station said, Latif was killed as a result of the attack near Beri Wala Chowk. He added that no application for the registration of an FIR has been filed thus far.

According to Jamaat-e-Ahmadiya spokesperson Saleemuddin, the father and son were on their way to court for the hearing of a case when the incident occurred. The spokesperson revealed that Latif, who was the president of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiya, Nankana city, was also Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam’s cousin. “Advocate Latif was killed because of his religious beliefs,” Saleemuddin said. One of the sons of the deceased is a civil judge in Lahore.

On Wednesday, an annual report was issued by the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya, claiming that at least six Ahmadis were killed in Pakistan in 2016 because of their religious beliefs. Saleemudin, the spokesperson for the group, cited Ordinance XX which later came to be known as the Blasphemy Law as the main reason behind targeted killings of Ahmadis. “Since its [Ordinance XX] imposition in 1984, so far 250 Ahmadis have been killed,” he complained.